Luca POV
After Riley asked me what she was to me, I did the one thing I knew how to do when I did not have an answer.
I created distance.
It was cowardly, although I refused to call it that at first. I told myself I needed time to think. I told myself the situation had become too complicated and that stepping back was the responsible thing to do. Riley worked for me, lived in my house, cared for my children, and was connected to me through our parents’ marriage. The photograph from Family Day had already caused questions, and every new moment between us seemed to create another reason for people to talk. Distance should have made everything clearer.
Instead, it made the house feel wrong.
For the next several days, I left for training before breakfast. I woke while the house was still
